With this team you do not need a mastermind IMO. They have had 4 years of highly disciplined defense orientated coaching and I think have their defensive identity pretty much set. They will not lose their team defense with a new coach. So a guy like Flip Saunders makes great sense and you have to realize he has been coaching during the Western Conferences reign as an uber dominant conference when it had ALL of the best big man.

Shaq and Duncan will be two of the big men of all time. Shaq had Kobe, Duncan had Robinson, Parker, Ginobilli and Garnette had...umm Wally Szczerbiak and Spreewell? Both are bench players on the Pistons roster. Sam Cassell is obviously very good but none of these guys are as good as the other top squads in conference. You also have to look at SacTown, Dallas, and Phoenix...these teams have all been stacked for the last 5+ years. KG is a phenomenal talent but every other playoff team in the West had a MVP caliber player with a deeper roster.

LB came to a team that had made it to the Eastern Conf Finals with a 2nd year coach...and then they added Rasheed Wallace...it's not like he turned a goat into a prom Queen.

_________________Regards, Alpha|Lionbacker.com \(^o^)/"I date this girl for two years and then the nagging starts: I wanna know your name..." - Mike Binder

July 20th, 2005, 8:48 am

TADOne

Play by Play Announcer - Al Michaels

Joined: April 27th, 2005, 3:26 pmPosts: 1776

Quote:

What about Pat Riley? Do you think there's any chance in hell he would leave his spot in Miami to coach Detroit? I don't, but hey, this is a message board to explore ideas!

This is an interesting idea. He has gotten the coaching itch again as reported. But is there any chance he would leave South Florida? I would say no, but no harm in asking.

_________________Regards,

Tim

July 20th, 2005, 9:48 am

TADOne

Play by Play Announcer - Al Michaels

Joined: April 27th, 2005, 3:26 pmPosts: 1776

Quote:

With this team you do not need a mastermind IMO. They have had 4 years of highly disciplined defense orientated coaching and I think have their defensive identity pretty much set. They will not lose their team defense with a new coach. So a guy like Flip Saunders makes great sense and you have to realize he has been coaching during the Western Conferences reign as an uber dominant conference when it had ALL of the best big man.

All very good points. I like Flip Saunders. All his former players always have good things about him. At this point he looks like our only good option.

_________________Regards,

Tim

July 20th, 2005, 9:58 am

Yorick

ST Coordinator – John Bonamego

Joined: March 22nd, 2005, 8:42 pmPosts: 3811

Ouch, I agree with Drew Sharp. After the Cleveland debacle, LB launched a great PR campaign. Davidson took the necessary path and the high road. LB's psychology is plain weird. Now, he is off to NY. I just cannot imagine his genius coming up with a way to maximize, what seven PFs?

_________________Far and away from the sound and the fury. . .

July 20th, 2005, 11:18 am

Yorick

ST Coordinator – John Bonamego

Joined: March 22nd, 2005, 8:42 pmPosts: 3811

"All along my goal was to coach Detroit, so I didn't look at any alternatives," Brown said. "I know I am not ready to do any management stuff. I feel confident I can still coach, but I don't know how to approach it right now. I need some time to think about what I want to do."

Like talking with Cleveland?

During negotiations with the Pistons, Brown said he was offered a chance to stay in the organization as an executive scout.

"I thought that was really unfair," Brown said. "They hired me to coach, and they asked me if I wanted to scout? That was an insult to me."

Like Cleveland's position basically, if he wanted to stay with such a "special group of guys" that he loved?

This bull tarnishes his legacy.

_________________Far and away from the sound and the fury. . .

July 20th, 2005, 11:29 am

TADOne

Play by Play Announcer - Al Michaels

Joined: April 27th, 2005, 3:26 pmPosts: 1776

I would never say that his legacy is tarnished in Detroit. He did win 1 championship and came within minutes of another. He did what we bought him here to do. Joe knew his reputation when he brought him aboard. I wish Larry the best of luck.

_________________Regards,

Tim

July 20th, 2005, 11:41 am

conversion02

RIP Killer

Joined: January 26th, 2005, 9:34 pmPosts: 10457Location: Sycamore, IL

Joe Glass called in to WDFN and said he had no indication that the Pistons didn't want LB back. What a moron, even I knew that the Stones wanted LB ONLY if he could coach as many games as any other coach in the league. Granted, he might be sick for a couple, but 15+? That's not realistical and Joe Glass was complaining about how no coach can coach all 82 games.

Joe also says there's no truth in LB speaking to the Knicks, Nuggets or Lakers. Apparently LB talked to all these teams yesterday. Why the Lakers? What about Phil? Joe says he's never met with any of these teams.

He claims the Stones gave the Cavs permission to talk to LB. I find this hard to believe, ESPECIALLY during the Eastern Conference Finals. Joe's also denying that LB said he didn't talk to Cleveland and his people did. What a fool.

Joe says that there's a very strong chance LB will NOT coach next year because he only wants to coach the Pistons and nobody else, offer or no offer. I find that extremely hard to believe when LB's dream job is the Knicks and they're in desperate need of a coach.

July 20th, 2005, 11:55 am

theAlphaMale

Site Admin

Joined: August 6th, 2004, 1:25 amPosts: 4920Location: Hills of Auburn

Unfortunately we did loose a great coach. But the organization did need to do what it did.

Another year of distractions and possibly much time out for his health issues would have plagued the Pistons. Looking at this year we obviously had the talent to win the championship yet we didn't. Him missing so many games and our record being bad during those periods could easily be argued lost us home court advantage and thus the championship. Also you can say that the entire Cleveland ordeal which was a HUGE distraction from the games did not help either.

The Pistons have an opportunity for the next few years to be great and they do not need the drama of LBs constant woers or wandering eyes. The funny thing is on 99% of teams the players are the ones creating drama but on our team it is the coach...how backwards is that.

I really feel badly for Larry that he may have some big medical issues but as a guy that supports the right way should also realize that when you are hurting a team you need to get off the field. If his medical situation was really that big of a concern than he would have initiated the meetings and let Detroit know that he was unsure he was capable of coaching for a full season. That would be the RIGHT thing to do. Which was from what I hear is all Detroit wanted to know...can you coach our team for a season? If not it was an obligation of Joe D and Bill D to the team and the fans to make a change because we have a hot team right now and we need a full time coach.

I think he also used this situation of his health a tool to avoid as much focus on his vegabond nature. He wanted the doctors to give him an out and they refused and told him it was his decision.

I cannot fault the Pistons at all for their part in this. LB was flirting with other options midseason and in the playoffs. Whether it was all him or some mixture we are judged by the company we keep and I have no doubt that Larry had other plans in the works. He forced the Pistons hand.

_________________Regards, Alpha|Lionbacker.com \(^o^)/"I date this girl for two years and then the nagging starts: I wanna know your name..." - Mike Binder

July 20th, 2005, 12:02 pm

Yorick

ST Coordinator – John Bonamego

Joined: March 22nd, 2005, 8:42 pmPosts: 3811

This clears up a few things-LOL

Davidson was a key player in the departure of Brown, who spoke during the spring with the Cleveland Cavaliers about possibly becoming team president and also told the New York Post in the middle of last season that coaching the Knicks would be a ``dream job.''

Parting ways with Brown ``was kind of easy,'' Davidson said. ``There was too much Larry Brown and not enough Pistons. I wasn't happy with that. You've got to understand that whoever coaches the Pistons represents me. And I'm not going to give (the team and their fans) somebody that's not a good person.''